Discovery
of the Murray. Hume and Hovell at variance. Centenary celebrations, by H. S.

When
Sir Thomas Brisbane, in 1822, succeeded Macquarie as Governor of the colony
of New South Wales (which then included what is now known as Victoria) he
desired to ascertain whether any large navigable streams disembogued on the
eastern coast.

Hamilton
Hume a man of good family, of fair education, and above all, a keen bushman,
was in 1824 given charge of a small expedition which was to make its way from
Lake George to Port Phillip.

The
country which the expedition was to traverse was entirely unknown. Associated
with him was "Mr. Hovell, of Minto," whom Hume considered he could well have
spared; but Hovell had influence, and the Governor said that he should go
with the expedition as associate leader.

The
uncongenial pair quarreled bitterly on this famous journey, and on one
occasion it is said that some dispute about the fryingpan
resulted in that utensil being pulled in two.

The
expedition set out on October 2, 1824. Beside the leaders there were six men,
the stores and equipment were carried in two bullock waggons
drawn by two yoke of oxen.

The
rank and file walked, but Hume and Hovell had horses to ride if they chose,
and they also had two light carts.

They
kept a journal, which was published in 1837 under the title of a 'Journey of Discovery to Port Phillip in
1824 and 1825 by W. H. Hovell and H. Hume, Esquires.'

It
was edited by Dr. William Bland, and though it is of the highest historical
value, it must be owned it is but dull reading.

This
journey of discovery through an unknown country was likely to be attended
with grave dangers, as Hume well knew.

Therefore,
he got an informal promise from the Government, so he says,
that if they made any important discoveries they should be rewarded by a
grant of land.

But
in his "Overland Expedition."
written in 1855, he declares that "When
the expedition returned successful beyond expectation, money payment even for
the cattle was refused and I had even much difficulty in obtaining
ticket-of-leave for three of the men who had accompanied me; but an order to
select 1,200 acres of land was given me.

That order, however I was obliged to
sell, owing to the expenses incurred and the loss otherwise
sustained by me, for my means at the time were very slender."

After
the expedition left Hume's station, on Lake George, things went fairly well
until they reached the Murrumbidgee. This checked them, for it was running a
banker.

Time
was precious however, and as the river showed no signs of abating they
decided to cross.

Hume
removed the wheels of one of the waggons, covered
the body with tarpaulin, and thereby converted it into a serviceable punt. By
towing this across the river they got all their belongings safely to the
other side.

Getting
the cattle across was a more difficult matter, for the bullocks did not take
at all kindly to the swollen waters. They too, were towed across.

One
unfortunate animal "turned turtle" during the passage, the greater
part of which he made with his four legs in the air and his head under water.

The Murrumbidgee. According to Hume, his partner was so
much discouraged by the state of the Murrumbidgee that he wanted to turn
back. "You can go back if you
like," said Hume, "but I
mean to go on."

But how was the river to be crossed?" asked Hovell. "That is best known to myself,"
replied Hume.

After
that Hume improvised the punt already referred to. He indignantly repudiates
the idea of Hovell having had anything to do with this, and quotes James
Fitzpatrick, who was one of the party, as saying. "Mr. Hovell had no hand in making the punt,
neither doing nor suggesting it. It was Mr. Hume who did it. Mr. Hovell's
cart was taken across the Murrumbidgee in Mr. Hume's."

"From these statements," says
Hume, "it will be evident that my
associate, had he been dependent on his own resources, and left to his own
shifts, would not in the circumstances have crossed the Murrumbidgee, though
he might have proceeded to trace it downwards; by so doing he would have
acted according to the instructions furnished for our guidance."

After
they had crossed the river, Hume, in his "Overland Expedition" (which is a much livelier account of
their adventures than is given in the edited journal), says that they found
themselves hemmed in by high mountains.

In
order to find an outlet Hovell took one direction and Hume the other. It was
Hume who found the outlet.

As
for Hovell, he lost his way for two days! "When I found him," says Hume, "he was unconsciously travelling back in the direction of Bass”.
And he is quite indignant with Dr. Bland, who, in his "Narrative," would make out that
they both lost their way. Nothing of the kind!

According
to Bland, Hovell and his companions lost their way in an attempt to find an
emu which they had killed and left behind them for the time being.

The
"little rift within the lute"
had been growing wider ever since they set out.

When
they had crossed the Tumut River, they came in sight of the Australian Alps.

This
formidable barrier Hume proposed to avoid by taking a more westerly course.
Hovell dissented.

After
much wrangling each agreed to go his own way. So the little party was
temporarily split into two - one half going west with Hume, the other half
going south with Hovell.

"What was my surprise, says Hume (who
was now in camp for the night) "to
hear one of my men call out, 'here comes Mr. Hovell!' And sure enough, there
he was with his man Boyd, running down our tracks. If my fellow traveller had any confidence in himself, would he, after
a few hours, have deserted his determination to go south, returned upon my
footsteps, and adopted for the future my more westerly course?'"

The Murray. The important discovery of the Murray was made
on November 16, according to Hume, but it would seem that the correct date
was November 17.

They
crossed it near the site of the Hume reservoir. Hume called it the "Hume River," after his father,
though it was some years later rechristened "The Murray" by Charles Sturt when he rowed into it from the
Murrumbidgee, not knowing that his new river was identical with the Hume.

Five
days after they had crossed the river, Hovell, according to Hume, lost heart
again, and addressing the men, advised them not to go forward, but to recross the Hume and trace it down, according to the
instructions they had received from the Government.

Very
indignant at this conduct, Hume told his colleague that he would rather be
without him altogether than have put in his position, setting a bad example.

He
could stay on which side of the river he chose, but Hume, for his part, would
push on.

Hovell
then appealed to Claude Bossawa ("one of my own men") and Claude
basely agreed to follow the line of least resistance with Hovell.

Whereupon
Hume, seizing Claude by the throat, threatened to put him in the Mitta Mitta if he did not cross (for it was the Mitta Mitta that had disheartened Hovell), and so "I frightened the fellow into crossing with
me."

"I then rigged out my tarpaulin boat and
crossed with my men and cattle," continues Hume. "Mr. Hovell, with his men, remained on the
near side of the river with the announced purpose of recrossing
the Hume and following down its northern bank. After I had crossed the river,
taking my wattle boat to pieces, and made a start onwards, Mr. Hovell called
to me, pressing me to stop and assist him over, and saying he would accompany
me."

The
Ovens and the Goulburn River were crossed without incident, but at a mountain
they named Mount Disappointment, they endured intense toil and fatigue when endeavouring to cut their way through the tangled scrub.

The
task seemed almost impossible. "Had we succeeded," remarks Hume,
"We should have reached the
present site of Melbourne sooner than we reached Geelong."

Here
Hume had a fall which might have caused him a dangerous injury. After this
mishap, they turned back to their old track at King Parrot Creek, and taking
a more westerly direction, struck the coast more to the westward than they
had intended.

On
December 18 they commenced the homeward journey. They had travelled already
some 670 miles, but on the return they succeeded in saving 170 miles.

"Though I have lately been made to appear
but as a subordinate to Captain Hovell," are the concluding words of
Hume's story," I respectfully submit that it was I who took him to
Hobson's Bay- and who brought him back again!"

Hovell
writing in reply to Hume declares that they "never got to Hobson's Bay at all"- that they never even saw
it.

They
certainly reached an inlet now called Corio Bay,
and that as this is a bay of Port Phillip, they may in a sense, be said to
have reached Port Phillip. "But of
that vast expanse of water known as Port Phillip proper, neither he nor Mr.
Hume had any idea."

The
centenary celebrations on November 17 will commence at Albury, and will last
10 days.

The
chairman of the National Parks committee (Sir James Barrett) says that the
committee proposes to co-operate with the Education department in making
these worthy of the occasion.

It
is proposed among other things, to erect cairns at the more important points
along the route taken by the expedition, and also to arrange for a procession
of motor-cars from Albury to Lara.

There
would be halts at suitable places, where the story of the memorable
expedition would be described and illustrated.